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Dooley's Dream Comes True,
But With an Interesting Twist

By

Frederick C. Klein

Updated June 15, 1998 12:15 a.m. ET

PARIS -- As a boy, Thomas Dooley dreamed about playing for his national team in the soccer World Cup, and, maybe, captaining it. He'll realize both aims Monday night when the U.S. opens its World Cup schedule against Germany in the Parc Des Princes stadium here, but with a catch. He'll be captain of the U.S. team, but the German squad is the one he fantasized about while growing up in Bechhofen, Germany.

Dooley's example of changed allegiance isn't uncommon around World Cup time, as the national contestants pore over...